Doomsday Scenarios: Separating Fact from Fiction

Give students something to think about when they're next using their computers-the dangers of cyberterrorism. At no time in history has information been so accessible to the individual, or so vulnerable to attack by a single crafty terrorist armed with only a computer and an Internet connection. In spite of developments in encryption (protective coding), firewalls (barriers to unauthorized access), and other security systems, there is always the threat that criminals will hack through a computer network's security system, from any location in the world, no matter how remote. Is there any way to stop or prevent cyberterrorism, or are we doomed to be thrust back into the relative dark ages of the pre-digital era in the blink of an eye-or the click of a mouse?

A dirty bomb is detonated in Times Square. Suddenly, mushroom clouds are billowing all over the world. This is a nightmare scenario that keeps intelligence and defense officials awake at night. How likely is a small- or large-scale nuclear attack on American soil or anywhere else in the world? How deadly would it be? What would the consequences be? This book separates the hysteria and hype from the sober assessments and on-the-ground realities, the science fiction from the observable fact, the doomsday scenario from the most likely occurrences and outcomes.

With the economic problems that we are experiencing today, this book is a voice of reason in a world that is saturated with media alarmism. This book puts the current financial problems in perspective with comparisons to past crises and hard-numbered analyses of just how devastating, or not, the current economic conditions are.

Much of the Earth's rainforests-, which once helped to slow the greenhouse effect by absorbing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide-have been destroyed to make room for farmland. Global warming is spiraling out of control. A tipping point has been reached, and Earth's climate has been irrevocably damaged. Many life forms are threatened. In fact, human beings are now officially an endangered species. Is this nightmare scenario our destiny? This book sorts out the facts from the overheated fiction, the actual reality from both the environmental hype and the conservative political evasions, while also suggesting ways in which we can still avert disaster or our very worst nightmare scenario.

How horrific will things get if we face a global food shortage? This riveting narrative explains the current state of our food supplies and where we're headed. Readers will learn how our actions have created our challenges, and how proactive solutions will remedy them.